I am not really wicked, love me and you shall see!
by Bella Silverspring
Summary: Four years after The Battle of Hogwarts and Draco's hiding in muggle London. But how does a chance encounter with Hermione Granger end? DHr
1. Chapter 1

_**During the final battle at Hogwarts the Malfoy family split: Narcissa and Draco favoured The Order and Dumbledore's Army, while Lucius remained loyal to Voldemort, thus Lucius was sentenced to life in Azkaban. Narcissa and Draco redeemed themselves by fighting against Voldemort and four years later Draco has become a well respected member of the wizarding community.**_

He threw the newspaper back onto the hotel room's dresser, the picture of a happy couple on their wedding day staring back at him, but if one looked closely they would notice the woman's tight smile and that the man's eyes were cold and hash. Supposedly the happiest day of his and Pansy's life, yet neither of them could produce a genuine smile. The headline above it read 'Malfoy Millions to be split' proceeding to explain that Draco had used Pansy, marrying her so he was entitled to his inheritance and carry on the tradition of a pure-blood family. It also described that he was yet to comment to the papers and how reporters had furiously searched likely haunts of the infamous Draco Malfoy with no luck.

He withdrew a small hipflask from his robes and took a large gulp before changing into a pair of jeans and a grey fitted top. Just as he'd pulled the top over his head he braced himself against the dresser as his stomach churned and a rhythmic throbbing began behind his eyes, he doubled over and felt every nerve cry in pain. Heat flushed through his body which was replaced immediately by a sharp chill. Almost as soon as it had started it was over and he raised his head to stare at his new reflection in the mirror. He admired his now tanned complexion which complemented his cinnamon brown hair and chocolate eyes. His once sharp and well defined features were much softer but his expression remained the same: his lips laced with his characteristic smirk. He removed his wand from his robes, which now lay strewn on the floor, and waved it haphazardly to gather his few belongings onto the bed. Throwing on a black bomber jacket he started placing his belongings in the left pocket which he'd used an undetectable extension spell on. He turned towards the mirror again to determine if he would pass for a muggle, thanking Salazar for Polyjuice Potion. After several seconds he decided it would do and at least no one would recognise him as Draco Malfoy. Glancing back at the dresser again, rolling his eyes and releasing an exasperated sigh, he muttered, "Incendio," pointing his wand at the newspaper and watching as it danced into flames before leaving the hotel in hope of walking off his frustrations.

Having already decided that the least likely place to be found would be amongst muggles, Draco apparated to muggle London and would make further plans from there. He arrived in a small, disused alley between two muggle pubs not far from King's Cross Station and began to walk along Euston Road, a busy muggle street. Draco was in awe as cars sped by with unimaginable speeds; he'd never been so close to muggle civilisation, he'd always tried to distance himself from muggles due to his perception that they were inferior. Draco contemplated his predicament: the papers were false, it wasn't Pansy who was divorcing Draco, but _Draco_ divorcing _Pansy_; she was having an affair with the German _Quidditch_ Team's seeker and he'd frozen their account so that she couldn't steal his inheritance, meaning he didn't have any money either. The paper was also incorrect about Draco's motives to marry Pansy as he didn't need to be married to claim his inheritance, but found he had cared for Pansy and _thought_ she'd cared for him too. She had been very careful concealing her affair and until two days ago deceived even Draco. Once it had become clear to him that she intended to rob him of his money, create a public scandal and tarnish the Malfoy name he had frozen their shared account at Gringotts to ensure she could not cause further damage. He had thought a few days would give him enough time to find a solution, and it had, but found he didn't want to return to the wizarding world just yet and face the numerous questions that surely awaited him. Realising he'd walked a considerable distance along the same road, Draco chose to walk in a different direction, so he turned left onto another busy street named Tottenham Court Road.

Now that Pansy had manipulated the newspapers to turn any possible friends Draco had against him, not that he was really one for friends anyway, there were very few people he could go to. Of course there was still Blaise, but he was firm that asking Blaise for help would be his last resort as he did not want to meet the condescending look and 'I told you so,' that would be sure to come. Blaise had warned Draco about Pansy, advising him that she would use him for his money. Well, actually he'd said, 'She's an argumentative, spiteful, ignorant and conceited whore who is exploiting you for her own selfish gain,' but that's essentially what he had meant. Obviously Draco had ignored Blaise and was now suffering the consequences. As he continued he contemplated what he would do now that he had no money, muggle or wizarding. A thought struck him, surely muggles weren't illiterate so they must have libraries or book stores, and seeing as he was in London it couldn't be hard to find one. He was certain if he found one he would be able to occupy himself for several hours and cross the inevitable bridge of what to do next later. Right before the road he was walking along joined another Draco stopped, and asked a middle-aged muggle woman for directions to the nearest bookstore.

The woman responded, "Just up there is Oxford Street, you need to cross over, head down Saint Giles High Street before turning right onto Charing Cross Road, then you should see a big bookstore called Foyles. You can't miss it. Have a good day hun." She smiled before continuing up where Draco had just come from, whilst he tried to retain the directions she'd just given. Taking another swig of Polyjuice Potion Draco continued on the Foyles bookstore.

Browsing the numerous shelves of books Draco picked up a copy of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, having remembered seeing a poster advertising the stage production in one of the theatres he'd passed earlier. He flipped the book over to read the blurb.

"That's a great book you know, are you planning on buying it?" A female voice asked. 'Great another one of those annoying muggle shop assistants,' he'd already been asked three times if he needed any help. He wasn't sure about muggle's incapability, but _he_ was fully competent at finding a book he wanted to read. So instead of answering the voice he carried on reading the blurb. "You should see the stage show, and I hear they're making a movie of it as well, although I recommend reading the book first, it's much darker but I find it to be rather romantic." Realising that unless he specifically told this woman to leave him alone she would continue to pester him, Draco raised his eyes from the book. He noticed that she was unlike the previous assistants, who all wore uniforms and a silver name badge. Instead she wore a pair of brown boots, pale blue jeans and a plaid shirt. Her hair hung in loose brown curls past her shoulders and as Draco met her eyes he gasped suddenly. She smiled at him politely and held out her hand expectantly. Draco stared at it for a moment in hesitation, then grasped it firmly and shook. "Hi, I'm Hermione."

"Um hi, I'm er Drac– um Drake," he said awkwardly not quite meeting her eyes.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself it's such an amazing book, one of my favourites actually, and you look like you might be the type who'd enjoy it." Draco quirked an eyebrow at this assumption she'd made, it was clear she hadn't recognised him. He highly doubted if she'd known he was Draco Malfoy, who had taken great pleasure in tormenting her throughout her life at Hogwarts, that she'd be this polite. "Well, I mean, you look like you must read a lot." Draco quirked his eyebrow again, 'Where exactly was Granger going with this?' He looked at her quizzically and took in her features. She'd grown slightly since he'd last seen her, which had been just under four years ago, the photos of the Golden Trio that plastered the front page of the paper regularly did not do her justice and her figure had filled out slightly so she no longer resembled a girl. She continued, "Not that I'm saying that you look like a stereotypical geek or anything," her cheeks flushed bright red, a stark contrast to her fair skin, "I'm sorry I…" Draco could clearly see she was flustered and then remembered that the Polyjuice Potion had not only transformed him into a muggle, but a rather handsome one at that.

He smirked, "It's okay, but yes I enjoy reading, and I've never read this book before but if you're recommending it then I suppose I must buy it." He looked back down at the book again searching for the price but sighed realising his dilemma. It was safe to say that Draco Malfoy had never been in a situation where he was unable to buy what he wanted before, and humiliated, placed the book back on the shelf.

Turning to leave Granger called, "I didn't mean to seem as though I was forcing you to buy it."

He sighed again before saying, "I think maybe I'll buy it another time," his expression pained.

"Um Drake, isn't it? Are you all right?" her voice heavy with concern, "I know it's early but, well, you look like you could use a drink." 'What was it with Granger's assumptions based on his appearance?' Although, he hated admitting it, right now a drink sounded ideal. He looked into her deep brown pools brimming with apprehension. He thought about the dangers of accepting her offer: she might tell the reporters of his whereabouts or fuel the papers with more lies. But that would only happen if he wasn't careful and let her find out he was Draco Malfoy. Her concern touched him, and he wondered when the last time was that someone had cared for his interests. He could only think of his mother and a heavy sorrow filled his heart, perhaps his mother was the only one who'd cared for him, certainly not his father who had abandoned them and was now rotting in Azkaban. But she'd been broken after the war, regret had filled her every thought and she had hated her involvement with Voldemort. Over those few months after The Battle of Hogwarts his mother had grown frail, refusing to leave the Manor, until one evening, she passed away in her sleep. Draco had been given the explanation that her heart had grown weary and could no longer cope, he couldn't help but agree.

He smiled at her weakly, "Yes please, I think I could."

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**A/N: This is my first fan fiction and I'd appreciate it if you could review and tell me if you have spotted any grammatical errors. I'm hoping to write several chapters and have already drafted the next, but your reviews will decide the length of this story and how quickly I update.**


	2. Chapter 2

"So Drake, what do you want to drink? It's on me," she gestured to the bar.

He froze, 'Shit, what should he say? What did muggles drink?' His mind raced through several possible replies to Granger's question, but decided sarcasm would elicit his true identity. "I'll just have the same as you."

"Alright then, two pints of Carling please," Hermione called over to the bartender. It was only late afternoon but already the pub was filling up with the various inhabitants of muggle London, so Hermione directed Draco to a booth out of the way of the gathering crowds. "I come here quite often," she explained, nodding to where Draco was now sliding onto the brown leather bench. 'Wait, what was _he_ doing _here_? What had possessed him to follow Hermione Granger into a muggle pub and accept a drink from _her_? Had he lost his mind?' Immediately Draco began looking for excuses to leave, but realised the least conspicuous escape route would in fact be to stay. If he made small talk for awhile and downed his drink he wouldn't arouse suspicion from Granger; however if he were to leave now she would undoubtedly discover his true identity, being the know it all she was. Besides he couldn't pass on an opportunity of free alcohol when all he desperately wanted to do was drown his sorrows. What's more Draco knew the answer to his questions: he followed Granger because he craved attention, although he despised her sympathy, he appreciated the compassion she showed him.

She passed him his drink and their fingers brushed, he felt a sharp shock and scowled at his hand as he withdrew it hastily. Their eyes met briefly but Draco broke the eye contact to study his drink, it didn't look much unlike butter beer but he sipped it cautiously. It was a foul drink since it was bitter and weak, and despite soothing his dry throat, Draco drawled, "Gr- Hermione, are you trying to kill me?"

She raised her eyebrows surprised by his cold, abrupt tone but ignored it, identifying it as another result of his apparent bad mood. "Um no, you did say you'd have what I was having." She justified, startled by his offensive manner.

"It would seem that _you_ are one of the rare people who _enjoys_ drinking poison," he snarked.

"Well, I wanted a pint of Carling. So that's what you got too." she snapped fiercely. Although surprised, Draco smirked when her eyes widened and cheeks reddened at her own insolence. He couldn't help wonder again what he was doing here, 'Not only was he in a bar with _Granger, _but he was in a bar with Granger who couldn't even buy him a decent drink.'

"Well," Draco mimicked, "I want something stronger." He looked deeply into her eyes, challenging her to refuse him of his demand. She returned his glare through her long lashes and both glowered at each other intensely, each refusing to be the one to break eye contact first.

Eventually she sighed dramatically, "Well, what do you want?" her tone was exasperated and Draco sensed that her fatigue was only partially due to their staring battle. Startled by her easy resignation, Draco muttered, "Surprise me," hoping she wouldn't argue otherwise he'd be back in the same position he was in earlier. She slid out from the bench opposite him and sullenly walked over to the bar.

Whilst Hermione talked to the bartender, Draco took the opportunity to take another swig of polyjuice potion. Hermione turned around eyeing Draco suspiciously before marching back over sliding onto the bench and slamming a small glass of clear liquid on the table. "Drink up." Her eyes glinted mischievously as she watched Draco lift the glass to his mouth. He downed the glass in one gasping as it burnt his throat. 'Salazar, that was strong!' She smiled, satisfied by the absence of scornful comments and nodded to the bartender. He walked over with two more glasses and a pint of a much darker drink than the one Draco had had earlier. "Vodka," Hermione explained nodding to the now empty glass in Draco's hand, "And that," she indicated to the other drink the bartender was bringing over, "Well, that's a surprise." Her smile broadened as he grunted in satisfaction, refusing to thank her verbally.

Draco finished his third glass of his 'surprise' drink and nodded appropriately as Hermione continued rambling, only half listening. By now Hermione had made her way through four Carlings and Salazar knows how many vodkas. Draco had stayed primarily because she was his free bar but also because he didn't quite know where he would go if he did leave. Her incessant babbling had been rather irritating at first but after awhile she didn't even notice that he wasn't listening. "… And did I tell you The Phantom of The Opera is my favourite book? Well it is, it's because it's so romantic, despite being a bit dark," Draco rolled his eyes, 'Now why did he get the feeling he'd heard this before?' she continued, "All I want is to meet a man who will sweep me off my feet and kiss me goodnight, it's not like I'm asking him to sing to me or to… hey, Drake," Draco looked up to see her gazing at him thoughtfully. "Do you want to dance?" She rose from her seat and began stumbling toward the bodies gathered around the bar, she lurched forwards, tripping over her own feet and fell into an arrogant guy who had caused a fuss over his order being incorrect earlier. Draco had noticed that in the last half hour the guy had become unruly with his friends and watched as Hermione muttered an apology before trying to turn away. As she turned her back on him the man snaked a muscular arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. Draco stood and sauntered to where a flustered Hermione was now struggling to get out of the man's grasp. "No, I do not want to dance with you," Hermione spat at the man forcefully.

"I think if she was going to dance with anyone, she wouldn't choose a lowlife such as you," Draco spoke coolly. The man let go of Hermione's waist abruptly seeing he was causing a scene and glowered at Draco who merely smirked in response. Grabbing Hermione roughly around the waist he pulled her alongside him to the door determining that she had passed the point of being drunk along time ago and it was best to leave now before she got herself into trouble.

As he dragged her outside the fresh air seemed to sober her up, but only a little. Realising that he was now responsible for getting her home he grumbled, "Where do you live?" She repeated her address several times for him and managed to describe decent directions, despite her drunken state. His arm remained firmly around her waist seeing that she would need his support if she was going to make it the short distance to her flat without falling over. Being Draco he could not resist the urge to make a derisive comment, "Really Hermione you should consider cutting back on the chocolate cake."

She looked up at him scornfully and replied, "What's your problem?" Well Draco had many answers to that but before he could describe his pitiful life to her she elaborated, "I mean, what's wrong, why are you so – troubled?"

He frowned puzzled at how she was capable of such coherent thoughts whilst intoxicated. "I'm broke." He decided even if she was Granger, the most gifted wizard of their generation, it was best to keep this simple whilst she was in her current state.

"How broke is broke?" She asked inquisitively.

"Well," he mused, wondering if he was about to say too much, "I couldn't even but that book earlier."

"Oh," she gasped. 'Yes, oh,' Draco thought. "You could stay with me until you get back on your feet," she added, "if you like." Draco just smirked. "What? You're too stuck-up to accept help when it's offered to you?" Hermione's cheeks flushed in irritation.

"Granger I don't need your help, especially not when you're drunk." Draco's reply was crude and conclusive. A peculiar look crossed her face but Draco thought nothing of it and the silence that followed teemed with tension.

As they drew nearer to the location Hermione had described, Draco began loosening his grasp around her waist hoping she would be capable of making her way up the steps into her flat. As he released her she staggered forward onto the pavement and let out a small moan from the damage the impact had on her knees. He bent down, "Shit. Are you okay?" Searching her for signs of injury he met her hollow eyes, in that instant he recognised that she was not dissimilar from him; she also felt the weight of secrets she carried and horrors she'd seen. Closer scrutiny confirmed that her confident exterior concealed a grave secret, one that his curiosity was determined to learn. He exhaled heavily concerned by her new vulnerability. 'Since when had _he_ been the compassionate fool? That was Granger.' Grimacing he wrapped his arms back around her waist and lifted her up so she could stand. She whimpered softly, leaning against him for support and he glanced down at her bloodied knees. 'Really what was it about this damn girl?' He rolled his eyes and carried her bridal style up the stairs to a heavy oak door. "Hermione, I'm going to need your keys."

After several attempts Draco found the right bedroom and wondered tastelessly how many men had slept in Granger's bed. In spite of his grumbling Hermione had drifted off in his arms so he laid her head gently on the pillow taking care not to wake her. Before he turned to leave her eyes fluttered open and looked around uncertainly until they settled on his own.

"The offer still stands, you can stay in the guest bedroom if you want," she mumbled and closed her eyes once again. He gazed at the now sleeping girl who sighed contentedly, wondering if her offer to use the guest room had been serious. Seeing as he had no place better to go, he chose to accept her offer, anyway it couldn't hurt to stay one night at Granger's. He couldn't help a small smile at her complete trust in him and innocence, remembering how she'd wanted a man who would sweep her off her feet and kiss her goodnight. It was then he became conscious of what he'd just done, 'Hadn't he, technically, swept her off her feet?' Thinking back now he would've blamed his next actions on the influence of alcohol and denied having any rational thoughts. He leant down slowly towards her forehead, watching as his breath tickled the fine hairs that framed her delicate face, until he was close enough to tenderly press his lips to her forehead, lingering slightly longer than necessary savouring the warmth that tingled from his lips and spread throughout his body. As he withdrew she whispered, "Night Draco," a fleeting smile crossing her lips. His eyes widened and he let out a small gasp checking his reflection in the mirror opposite. He still looked like the muggle, no hint of blonde showing through and his skin was still tanned. So how did she know?

"How – how did you know?"

A knowing smile crept across her face as she explained, "I never told you my second name, yet you called me Granger."

"Oh." For once words had escaped Draco Malfoy.

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**A/N: Please review and tell me if you want me to continue otherwise I'll just make this a two chapter story. I'm also sorry it took me so long to update this but I've been very busy with school as exams are coming up.**

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**A/N: As I have so many exams coming up I won't be able to update this story, so I have decided to leave it as a two chapter story and may continue the story line as a sequel after my exams if people want me to.**


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